A complete description of the pathways and mechanisms of protein folding requires a detailed structural and energetic characterization of the conformational ensemble along the entire folding reaction coordinate. Simulations can provide this level of insight for small proteins. In contrast, with the exception of hydrogen exchange, which does not monitor folding directly, experimental studies of protein folding have not yielded such structural and energetic detail. NMR can provide residue specific atomic level structural information, but its implementation in protein folding studies using chemical or temperature perturbation is problematic...

BACKGROUND: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive skin cancer with a recurrence rate of >40%. Of the 2000 MCC cases per year in the United States, most are caused by the Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). Antibodies to MCPyV oncoprotein (T-antigens) have been correlated with MCC tumor burden. The present study assesses the clinical utility of MCPyV-oncoprotein antibody titers for MCC prognostication and surveillance. METHODS: MCPyV-oncoprotein antibody detection was optimized in a clinical laboratory...

This text presents information on respiratory conditions in a succinct manner, beginning with an overview of the historical context of respiratory nursing and moving on to discuss anatomy and physiology, epidemiology, exercise, nutrition and pulmonary rehabilitation.

With the number of stem cell-based therapies emerging on the increase, the need for novel and efficient delivery technologies to enable therapies to remain in damaged tissue and exert their therapeutic benefit for extended periods, has become a key requirement for their translation. Hydrogels, and in particular, thermoresponsive hydrogels, have the potential to act as such delivery systems. Thermoresponsive hydrogels, which are polymer solutions that transform into a gel upon a temperature increase, have a number of applications in the biomedical field due to their tendency to maintain a liquid state at room temperature, thereby enabling minimally invasive administration and a subsequent ability to form a robust gel upon heating to physiological temperature...

PURPOSE: The degree to which conscientiousness contributes to well-being in Chinese cancer survivors and the mechanisms through which conscientiousness is associated with well-being remain unclear. Based on Lent's restorative well-being model [1], the current study tested a mediation model of the contribution of conscientiousness, positive reappraisal, and hopelessness to fear of cancer recurrence (FCR), and physical well-being in a sample of 238 Chinese cancer survivors. METHOD: Participants completed self-report questionnaires...

: Eye movements serve to accumulate information from the visual world, contributing to the formation of coherent memory representations that support cognition and behaviour. The hippocampus and the oculomotor network are well connected anatomically through an extensive set of polysynaptic pathways. However, the extent to which visual sampling behaviour is related to functional responses in the hippocampus during encoding has not been directly studied in human neuroimaging. In the current study, participants engaged in a face processing task while brain responses were recorded with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and eye movements were simultaneously monitored...

Micropeptides function as master regulators of calcium-dependent signaling in muscle. Sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) ATPase (SERCA), the membrane pump that promotes muscle relaxation by taking up Ca(2+) into the sarcoplasmic reticulum, is directly inhibited by three muscle-specific micropeptides: myoregulin (MLN), phospholamban (PLN), and sarcolipin (SLN). The widespread and essential function of SERCA across diverse cell types has raised questions as to how SERCA is regulated in cells that lack MLN, PLN, and SLN...

Objective Identify the progression of specific signs of multiorgan dysfunction among infants with fatal sepsis. Study Design Cohort study of 679 infants who died within 3 days of the start of a late-onset sepsis (LOS) episode in neonatal intensive care units from 1997 to 2012. We extracted clinical and laboratory data on the day of death (day 0) and the preceding 5 days (days -5 to -1). Results Median (25th percentile-75th percentile) gestational age was 25 (24-28) weeks. Compared with day -1, day 0 was characterized by an increased requirement for mechanical ventilation and higher mean fraction of inspired oxygen...

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a rare, aggressive form of breast cancer associated with HER2 amplification, with high risk of metastasis and an estimated median survival of 2.9 y. We performed an open-label, single-arm phase II clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01325428) to investigate the efficacy and safety of afatinib, an irreversible ErbB family inhibitor, alone and in combination with vinorelbine in patients with HER2-positive IBC. This trial included prospectively planned exome analysis before and after afatinib monotherapy...

BACKGROUND: Stress is a potent immunomodulator contributing to chronic conditions. Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a life-threatening late effect of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation associated with stress and exaggerated immune response that may be associated to lifestyle behaviors. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to explore associations among lifestyle behaviors, perceived stress, and inflammation of individuals with cGVHD. METHODS: A secondary analysis from a prospective observational study of 24 adults (≥18 years) with cGVHD was conducted...

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of three prospectively collected databases. OBJECTIVE: compare peri-operative outcomes in Adult Spinal Deformity (ASD) surgeries in a surgeon-run (SR-ASD) and two national databases: the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) and the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: has been learned on the treatment of ASD in the last decade with prospective multicenter collaborative research focusing on this specific condition...

Video modeling has been shown to be effective in teaching a number of skills to learners diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In this study, we taught two young men diagnosed with ASD three different activities of daily living skills (ADLS) using point-of-view video modeling. Results indicated that both participants met criterion for all ADLS. Participants did not maintain mastery criterion at a 1-month follow-up, but did score above baseline at maintenance with and without video modeling. • Point-of-view video models may be an effective intervention to teach daily living skills...

Isolates of the zoonotic pathogen Campylobacter are generally considered to be unable to metabolize glucose due to lack of key glycolytic enzymes. However, the Entner-Doudoroff (ED) pathway has been identified in Campylobacter jejuni subsp. doylei and a few C. coli isolates. A systematic search for ED pathway genes in a wide range of Campylobacter isolates and in the C. jejuni/coli PubMLST database revealed that 1.7% of >6,000 genomes encoded a complete ED pathway, including both C. jejuni and C. coli from diverse clinical, environmental and animal sources...

This paper provides an overview of current progress in the technological advances and the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) to treat neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, as presented by participants of the Fourth Annual DBS Think Tank, which was convened in March 2016 in conjunction with the Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration at the University of Florida, Gainesveille FL, USA. The Think Tank discussions first focused on policy and advocacy in DBS research and clinical practice, formation of registries, and issues involving the use of DBS in the treatment of Tourette Syndrome...

Stygoporus oregonensis Larson & LaBonte is a little-known subterranean diving beetle, which, until recently, had not been collected since the type series was taken from a shallow well in western Oregon, USA, in 1984. Here we report the discovery of additional specimens collected from a nearby well in the Willamette Valley. Sequence data from four mitochondrial genes, wingless, and histone III place Stygoporus Larson & LaBonte in the predominantly Mediterranean subtribe Siettitiina of the Hydroporini. Morphological support for these results is discussed, and details of the collecting circumstances of the new specimens are presented...